a. Unilateralism undermines US-European relations
Ivo H. Daalder; sr fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution; 2003 (Survival, summer p. brookings.edu/dybdocroot/views/articles/daalder/20030601.pdf)
The policies of the Bush administration will, for now, be determinative for the future, of US-European relations. Nothing in the new structure preordains an end to transatlantic cooperation and partnership. But the gratuitous unilateralism that has marked the Bush administration’s first two years in office – the embrace of American power as means to all ends and the deliberate neglect of international institutions and other structures of cooperation – has had a profoundly negative impact on European elite and public opinion. Bush’s personal style has only made matters worse.
Finally, the transatlantic relationship is, indeed, “irreplaceable.” Transatlantic strategic cooperation is one reason why the second half of the twentieth century was so much better than the first. Whether humanity will live safely through the first half of the twenty-first century and beyond will depend on the willingness and ability of the US and Europe to agree on a common strategy to meet the challenges of this new era. Transatlantic relations, as Solana remarked, need a recommitment to four key principles: That we are allies and partners, that both sides make fair contributions, that the causes are dealt rather than the symptoms and, last but not least, that both sides act together to sustain a world order based on rules. Iraq has become the ultimate acid test for the reaffirmation of transatlantic relations. Europeans will have to understand that Iraq is not Vietnam where US troops could retreat after international pressure and to international applause in order to contain the damage done. The damage done in Iraq is no longer to be contained and it is no longer the issue that some European governments were able to predict what would happen much better than the Bush administration. Whether we like it or not, Iraq has become our problem, too. The ‘great divide’ on theIraqwar has turned from a matter of survival of transatlantic relations into a matter of survival of humanity.
Ivo H. Daalder; sr fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution; 2003 (Survival, summer p. brookings.edu/dybdocroot/views/articles/daalder/20030601.pdf)
The policies of the Bush administration will, for now, be determinative for the future, of US-European relations. Nothing in the new structure preordains an end to transatlantic cooperation and partnership. But the gratuitous unilateralism that has marked the Bush administration’s first two years in office – the embrace of American power as means to all ends and the deliberate neglect of international institutions and other structures of cooperation – has had a profoundly negative impact on European elite and public opinion. Bush’s personal style has only made matters worse.
b. US-European relations solve extinction
Marianne Ebertowski; Heinrich Boll Foundation; May 2004 (www.boell.de/downloads/aussen/gasp_bro_en.pdf)
Finally, the transatlantic relationship is, indeed, “irreplaceable.” Transatlantic strategic cooperation is one reason why the second half of the twentieth century was so much better than the first. Whether humanity will live safely through the first half of the twenty-first century and beyond will depend on the willingness and ability of the US and Europe to agree on a common strategy to meet the challenges of this new era. Transatlantic relations, as Solana remarked, need a recommitment to four key principles: That we are allies and partners, that both sides make fair contributions, that the causes are dealt rather than the symptoms and, last but not least, that both sides act together to sustain a world order based on rules. Iraq has become the ultimate acid test for the reaffirmation of transatlantic relations. Europeans will have to understand that Iraq is not Vietnam where US troops could retreat after international pressure and to international applause in order to contain the damage done. The damage done in Iraq is no longer to be contained and it is no longer the issue that some European governments were able to predict what would happen much better than the Bush administration. Whether we like it or not, Iraq has become our problem, too. The ‘great divide’ on the Iraq war has turned from a matter of survival of transatlantic relations into a matter of survival of humanity.